How can I protect myself from IP leaks caused by Flash or WebRTC?

While ZenMate VPN extension hides your IP address for browser traffic, it cannot prevent IP leaks caused by the Flash Player, and WebRTC is a well-known security threat for all VPNs. But don’t worry, there are ways to get around these issues.

Flash Player

Flash Player is a very old technology which is known to potentially cause security vulnerabilities. As Flash operates outside of your browser it is not covered by browser extensions. The easiest and most reliable solution is to use the ZenMate VPN clients for Windows and Mac OS X, as they secure your entire desktop.

If your device isn’t compatible with the desktop clients, or you prefer to use ZenMate VPN extension, we advise you to use the free browser extension "FlashControl" in addition to ZenMate VPN to let you control when Flash Player is used or not.

Alternatively, you can block Flash Player directly via your browser settings. Please see below for further instructions as to how to do this.

Scroll down to “Plug-Ins” and select “Click-to-Play” and save the changes.

Test it on http://whoer.net/extended. If the result for “Flash” is “N/A” your Flash Player cannot leak your IP anymore. Good Job!

WebRTC

WebRTC (Web Real-Time Communication) is a technology intended for browser-to-browser communication. It allows the development of applications that are native to the browser. In general, this means they are safer, but unfortunately, this technique also allows pages to send requests to the so-called 'STUN servers', which will return your local and your public IP addresses.